CoRrUpTeD
by Prince-Dizzi
Summary: A strange new enemy has come to Hallow Bastion in its state of recovery. Can Sora and Riku stop this terror, or unleash their inner monsters take over? M for bloody violence, Sorry!
1. 1:What the f happened to you!

Sora and Riku was visiting their friends in Hallow Bastion when Yuffie came running in with cuts and a strange tare in her shirt. Everybody rushed over to her and sent Aerith to find a medical kit.

"Yuffie what happened to you!" panicked Tifa.

She kept Yuffie's head off the floor as Aerith cleaned a large cut on her forearm.

"I was attacked by some strange girl. She was wearing an outfit that looked like one of those weird little imps-like heartless. She just randomly appeared out of no where and tried to steal my heart." She stated.

She used her good arm to pull back the tare of the shirt and showed a large claw-like slash that released dark energy trying to steal her exposed heart. Everyone gasped and Mog ran off and puked at how disturbing it appeared. Leon looked at it closely before leaving and searching through Hallow Bastion's main computer.

"Does it hurt with your heart exposed like that?" asked Aerith.

Yuffie shook her head and covered the wound back up. Riku had walked off before Aerith even asked her question. Sora was confused for a moment at how Riku was reacting and went over to check on him. He came into a hall he thought Riku was in but found no one until he was suddenly hugged from behind. He jumped before he realized it was Riku himself resting his head on his. He eased some before asking;

"Why did you walk off when Yuffie showed us that strange wound?"

Riku sighed and held tighter on to Sora.

"Those marks could only have been done by-"

He was suddenly cut off by Yuffie screaming to the top of her lungs. They both rushed over to see Leon carving a keyhole into Yuffie's wound. Sid, Tifa, and Aerith where holding her down so that she didn't hurt Leon with her newly formed black claws. Sora stared with wide eyes and tried to hide himself in Riku's chest. Riku couldn't tare his eyes away from the terrifying scene. Yuffie's eyes were now starting to turn the eerie yellow of heartless. Leon quickly jumped off of her when she started to snap at his hand. He looked to Sora and Riku with determined eyes.

"Sora, Riku, one of you use the keyblade and lock her heart inside her before she transforms completely!" he ordered.

Sora summoned his keyblade, but was shaky and scared at Yuffie's transformation. Riku quickly summoned his own keyblade and locked her heart within her before she could bite Tifa or Sid. Her body suddenly went limp and her features returned back to normal.

"What the hell was that!" bellowed Sid.

Riku put away his keyblade and tried to calm down Sora as he began speaking;

"That's the way Loveless creates heartless. She doesn't steal the heart, but let it manifest into a monster she can control at will. She belonged to Maleficent when I worked for her, but now I believe she's loose of that leash."

Leon walked forward and glared at Riku as if he was some disgusting insect. He grabbed a handful of Sora's hair and pulled them away from one another. Riku instantly summoned his keyblade and was ready to attack Leon.

"You know who did this to her!! Did you and that freak plan to take us out and make us your slaves! Well shadow boy!" roared Leon.

Everyone was staring at Leon with wide eyes. Sora was crying and trying to pull away, but Leon kept a firm grip on his prisoner. Riku edged around Leon and his wild eyes, signaling Tifa to help him. Sora was still trying to fight back when Tifa gave Leon a harsh slug in the face. He fell over and released Sora, Aerith holding him like a terrified child. Riku placed a foot on Leon's chest and held his keyblade close to Leon's neck. He leaned forward and glared down at the still wild-eyed Leon as he spoke;

"Loveless was trained to cause discord to those close to her victims, making easy targets for her to attack, or if she's hungry, eat."

Leon swallowed and lost his rage as Riku said this. Riku put away his weapon and walked over to Aerith and Sora to make sure he was okay. Leon walked over to where Yuffie was now sound asleep and kneeled down next to her.

"I promise I will catch and destroy who did this to you, no matter what it takes." He whispered his vow.

He looked over to everyone else and knew he had to protect them from this new evil roaming Hallow Bastion.


	2. 2: i don't understand

A young, pale skinned girl stood motionless at the top of one of Hallow Bastion's castle towers. She looked to be staring out at the sunset even though her eyes were covered by her strange hat shaped like the head of a shadow heartless. Her long detachable sleeves bellowed in the wind as did her purple hair. A tall, dirty blonde man in black drew her out of her gazing.

"Did you attack a member of this world's defense committee as planned?" he asked.

She didn't respond in any way but turn to view the sunset again. He had stepped forward and placed a black gloved hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn her head some to look at the man standing next to her.

"Well Loveless, did you?" he asked in a more forceful tone.

She brushed his hand away and quickly slipped into the tower window. He followed her to find her looking at her reflection in a mirror.

"I could have eaten that girl I attacked, but something in me felt sorry for her with my heartless attacking her," she spoke softly," why is this sir Vexen? I don't understand…"

Vexen smiled as he stood behind her. He looked at her face in the mirror as he spoke,  
"your human will had triggered the emotion pity when you fought her. It's nothing for you to worry about once I give you your control collar."

"Control collar? What do you me-"

She was cut short as a thick metal collar was snapped around her neck. She wailed as loud as she could, her hands trying to claw it off. Vexen backed off once the collar was on securely. Loveless snarled at him as she growled;

"You traitor! You promised I wouldn't be a slave if I worked with you nobodies willingly!"

Vexen laughed coldly at her words. He leaned against one of the walls as Loveless continued to snarl and snap at him.

"That collar allows us to communicate with you and if needed, control your body and mind. Don't worry; we will only use that last feature for emergencies." He informed.

She still snarled and scratched at her new collar, but soon gave up her efforts. She straightened her stance out and stared blankly at Vexen. She stepped forward and looked up at Vexen, her teeth slightly barred as she spoke.

"So be it, but if I find out you use body and mind control on me, I will kill you and the organization."

Vexen smirked at her words and attempted to grab a piece of Loveless' hair when the sound of foot steps coming up the staircase caught his attention. He backed off closer to the window as he spoke.

"Your next mission is to control Leon to attack the others with him, but don't fully turn him into a heartless. We still want him to have his heart and be somewhat human."

With those final words he disappeared into the shadows.

Riku opened the door and saw Loveless looking deeply into her reflection. She slowly turned and stared at him with her blank face. He stood frozen as the door shut behind him with a slam. Loveless shifted shadows to coil around him, trapping him in a web of darkness.

"It's been a long time Lord Riku. Why did you leave me and Mistress?" she spoke.

Riku struggled in the web and almost bit her finger when she traced it along his lip. She pulled back her hand and tried to smile, but failed. She snarled at this and summoned some heartless to destroy.

"What do you want here, there's nothing worth your interest in this world anymore. You can be human if you let us help you." He muffled.

The coils of darkness constricted his mouth as she turned her attention back to him. She wore a snarl on her deep red lips. The eyes on her hat even changed to a more deranged heartless.

"I have new and better owners now, even if they treat me similar to how mistress did. My masters have the same interest as me; we want what our will most desires." She growled.

Riku fought greatly to free himself from her web, but she somehow placed an icy kiss on his lips. He stopped his resistance as she removed the shadows and pulled him into her frozen embrace. He started to lose consciousness when Sora, Leon, Cloud, and Tifa burst through the door. Sora ran at them blindly with his keyblade to have her move quickly to the window. She looked back at them standing in a guard position around Riku limp on the floor. She tilted her head to the side and spoke sadly;

"Tell Lord Riku I'll be waiting for him to join me and my masters."

With those words she jumped from the window in a freefall formation. Leon leaned over the window and fired light encrusted bullets from his gunblade at her. One went through her left shoulder and splattered rich blood on the ground where she landed. She roared up at him before running off into the shadows.

"Damn it! I could have killed her!" fumed Leon.

No one was paying attention to him as Sora pulled an almost dead Riku up on his lap. Leon looked on in shock at how much colour had left his skin. His lips were a frosted blue with ice forming on his upper lip and cheeks. Sora held him close as Leon swore under his breath.

"Loveless must be stopped. If I have to kill her with my own two hands I will!" Sora cried.


	3. Fallen Friends and Broken Lovers

Aerith walked down the hall with a basin full of warm water. Mog, her little moogle, was carrying a towel and sponge as he flew next to her head. She knocked on a large steel door to have it forcefully opened by an angry Leon. His eyes were close to tearing as he allowed Aerith and Mog into the stone cold room.

"I brought some warm water to clean their wounds." She stated.

Sora looked up with blood shot eyes and took a towel from Mog. Aerith gave a sad look and started to clean Yuffie's wounds. Sora gently wiped away the sweat on Riku's forehead, his face distorting at the sudden touch. Sora's own face began to distort with anger at this.

"_How could I let this happen to him? I promised I'd protect him and now he's lucky to be breathing! I don't think I could live if he doesn't come out of this alive…_" he thought.

He gently squeezed Riku's hand to pull him out of his monstrous mind. Aerith came up behind him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with tear filled eyes. She gave a comforting smile as she gently whispered;

"Don't worry little brother, he'll come out of this just fine, I know it."

He gave a weak smile and allowed her to give him a much needed hug before leaving the room.

Leon walked back over to Yuffie's bedside and wiped a piece of hair from her face. He gave a gentle yet forced smile as she relaxed her damaged form in the patched covers. Leon turned to leave Yuffie in her peaceful state when his hand was suddenly grabbed. He turned to see Yuffie looking at him with dull, tired eyes. She held a faint smile on her lips as she softly spoke;

"You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine big bro, just fine……"

With those words she drifted back to sleep with a smile on her thin lips.

Leon burst into tears as he crashed to his knees next to her bed. He held her hand tightly and hung his head in shame. His mind reeled at how he couldn't protect her, allowing his fear of losing his little sister to take over every fiber of his being. He backed off with holding onto Yuffie when he noticed he was starting to cause her pain. He stood up with horror on his face before storming off out the room. He stopped in the main hall and slammed his fist into the wall. Tears continued to run down his face when a soft voice called;

"_Come Leon, I can help you protect your sister and the others. We can keep them all from harm in this world. Let me help you……"_

Leon didn't seem to care that the voice was a total stranger's as he followed the sound through the hall until a young girl in white came into view. He was trapped in his own heart as she drew him into the darkness with her.

Sora had fallen asleep next to Riku around midnight. Aerith had come in a few times with more water and food for Sora, but found it untouched when she came to clean Yuffie's wounds for the fourth time that night. She had brought a blanket and placed it over Sora as quietly as she could without disturbing him.

"Sleep well little brother, you could use some rest." She whispered.

She gave him a light kiss on the forehead before grabbing Mog out of the air and leaving the room.

Riku started to twist and turn in his sleep before suddenly jolting awake. He sat up with sweat clinging to his body. He looked around the room before spotting Yuffie in her own bed across the stone room. He was about to get up when he realized someone was holding onto his shirt to the point of tearing it. He followed the arm to see Sora having a fit in his sleep. He gave a soft smile and pulled him onto the bed and held him close. Riku found it a great comfort that Sora stayed with him the whole time he was trapped in Loveless' spell. He rested his head on top of Sora's as he laid them both back down on the bed.

"_He must have been so upset to see me in such a weak state after I was attacked. I can even bet he started screaming himself when Loveless just dropped me on the floor. I promise I won't let you go through that again Sora, I promise._" He thought.

He almost laughed at how Sora buried himself into his chest like a child. He held him tighter as he noticed his love's face distorting in pain. He wiped away the tears that were falling down Sora's face until his eyes slowly opened with more tears. He looked up to see Riku with his signature half smile on his face.

"Riku!!! I thought I was losing you!" Sora sobbed.

Riku allowed Sora to nearly squeeze the life out of him as he cried harder. He gave his love a gentle kiss to stop the tears, even if it only lasted for a moment.

"well I'm awake now, so there's no need to cry anymore, okay Sora? No more tears." Riku informed.

Sora stifled a tear and kissed Riku savagely. Riku wasn't prepared for this, but used just as much force. When Sora finally pulled away and just held onto Riku, the steel door was suddenly kicked open by a fearsome Cloud followed by Tifa and Aerith. He looked around the room with such anger in his eyes that Sora was scared once more into tears. Cloud suddenly slammed his giant buster blade onto the ground to the point of sparks. He suddenly wailed in anger;

"WHERE IN THE HELL IS LEON!!!!!"


	4. Restoration

Sora, Riku, Tifa, and little Mog stared wide eyed at Cloud's strange anger. He glared what could have been taken as death at Sora and Riku still sitting on the bed. He walked over to the bed and grabbed both Sora and Riku by their collars.

"Would you two care to explain to me where Leon could be before I cleaver your heads off!?!" he asked in a venomous tone.

Sora started to struggle as did Riku when Aerith suddenly yelled;

"Mog, perform Top Spin Toss!"

Mog suddenly flew at Cloud and dug his little teeth into the back of his jacket collar. He was forcefully picked off the ground, making him let go of the boys while he was spun around in the air. Everyone just watched in awe to see a little moogle like Mog throwing Cloud that was five times bigger then him around the room. Cloud finally stopped being spun in the air with a loud "bam!" on the floor. Mog had a cheery look on his face as he went over to Aerith and sat on her head humming. Everyone looked at Cloud nearly knocked out on the ground then back to Aerith and Mog. Aerith walked forward and helped Cloud up off the ground and sat him in one of the chairs. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder as she calmly spoke;

"Now there's no need to panic about Leon, I know you two are getting married in a month but-"

She was quickly cut off by Cloud standing up and yelling as he blushed;

"It's in four months and I'm panicking because I can't find him anywhere in Hallow Bastion!"

He was still blushing as Tifa, Riku, and the now awake Yuffie were laughing at how embarrassed he was about his engagement to Leon. Everyone turned to look at Yuffie sitting up and bubbly as usual, but had bandages covering her arms, legs, and right eye. She stopped her laughing once she realized everyone was staring at her in shock. She wiped her good eye of tears as she laughed her words;

"Were you guys expecting me to just stay asleep and miss this performance by big bro's blushing bride? You must be kidding!"

Cloud was ready to attack her, but Aerith and Tifa stopped him with their firm grips. Yuffie slowly got out of bed and stretched her limbs without any pain and walked over to the others. She had a cheeky grin on her face as she chimed;

"Well are we going to find my big bro Leon or gawk at me for being awake? Let's get a move on now!"

Everyone watched her walk out into the hall with a bounce in her step. Her humming started to fade when Riku commented;

"This has been one of the weirdest weeks yet."

Sora nodded in agreement with Riku's comment as Cloud grabbed them each by the arm and lead them out the door.

"Let's just get a move on before I break something." He grumbled.

Aerith and Tifa didn't do anything about these actions and just followed them out the room to look for Leon.

Loveless was standing in her room staring out the window into the never ending darkness. Her face had a look of sorrow on it as she walked closer to the glass, placing her thin, black talon fingers upon its spotless surface. A sudden knock on the door drew her out of her thoughts and to answering her room door. She opened it slowly until Demyx shoved the door open the rest of the way and gave Loveless a tight hug.

"Welcome back Mallory!! So how was the mission?" he asked in an excited tone.

Loveless didn't know how to respond to this sudden act of kindness. She gently pushed him away and straightened out her jacket. She tilted her head to the side in confusion as she spoke;

"My name isn't Mallory Sir Demyx, its Loveless. Why do you show such excitement and joy when you have not obtained that which you desire?"

Demyx didn't quite understand the question and just gave her his overly bubbly smile before leading her out of the room to the main lounge where the other members were relaxing. Marluxia looked up from his gardening magazine and held a soft smile on his lips when he saw Loveless enter the room. Larxene didn't seem to notice Demyx and Loveless were even there until she narrowly missed Demyx with one of her darts.

"Careful where you stand moron, I could have taken your eye out as I did with Xigbar." She remarked.

Demyx cringed back at her words and scurried off to sit on one of the couches in the room. Loveless looked around the room in confusion as to why she was in their resting chamber with her masters. Marluxia came up behind her and placed a slightly tanned hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to his hand.

"Yes Sir Marluxia?" she asked.

His face held a look of disappointment as she spoke. He turned her around to look at her face. He tried to remove her hat from her eyes, but she suddenly pulled away with a sharp hiss at him. She held her stare and started to growl when Xigbar came in and fired a bullet in between Loveless and Marluxia. They both turned and looked at him with blank faces.

"Loveless, Superior wants to see you in his office. You better hurry too, Vexen is in there and is not in a good mood today." He informed.

Loveless relaxed her body and gave a quick bow to all of them before rushing off to the lab.

"Think she'll ever stop seeing the world through the eyes of a Heartless?" asked Xigbar.

"I don't know Xiggy, we can only hope." answered Marluxia.

Loveless stood before Xemnas, Vexen, and Zexion with curiosity written across her features. Her head tilted to the side slightly until Xemnas addressed her in a strong tone;

"Were you able to capture Leon?"

Vexen appeared to glare at her his distrust as she spoke up;

"Yes, Master Xemnas. I found it rather simple to manipulate his emotions with that girl I attacked earlier awake. It was difficult not to kill him since he had injured me."

As she said this she removed her jacket and showed them the gapping hole in her left shoulder. The edges looked to be inflamed even though you could see straight through it. She noticed Zexion flinch in what looked to be pain, but ignored it and put her jacket back on.

"Well if you have completed your mission, where is Leon? I don't sense or see him." snarled Vexen.

Xemnas looked back at him with anger and nearly hit him, but restrained himself. Loveless shifted the shadows and out walked a deranged looking Leon. His left arm was shrouded in darkness and bonded him to his gunblade. The left side of his face was that of a cold blooded heartless wanting to destroy all that were against him.

"_Come Leon, these people are here to help us. They are Light guards just as i." _ chimed the true sweet voice of Loveless.

The others watched in astonishment at how Leon walked toward her with a look of pure joy and pride. He kneeled before Loveless and took one of her hands in his. He looked up at her, both his heartless eye and his yellow tinged looking at her with devotion.

"I will do what you wish me to do Mallory, mistress of Light Guard." He softly spoke.

He kissed her hand and stood again to stand next to her. Vexen was speechless as was Xemnas, but Superior was quick to recover.

"He believes you are some angel of light helping him protect his friends? Very good, but will he listen to us?" he enquired.

Loveless shook her head no, but calmly stated;

"I am the only one he can hear and see. I can allow him to see and hear you, but he will not take orders from you. I apologize for this Master Xemnas."

She bowed her head in sight shame as Vexen took a hand full of her hair and pulled her eye level with him. His eyes held rage as her face distorted in pain.

"You useless whore," he bellowed," How are we to perform our plan if we cannot even control him for our own use!"

She struggled to brake free, yet wouldn't use her talons to injure her owner. He was just about to throw her when Xemnas and Zexion came forth and placed a hand on each shoulder. Vexen suddenly let her go and stormed off to his room. Loveless was crumpled on the ground not too far from the disfigured Leon. He quickly came over to her and picked her up with his still human arm while aiming his disfigured gunblade at Xemnas.

"_The one who attacked me is gone now. There is no need to fight innocent people._" she whispered in his ear.

He allowed his arm to fall to his side and stood still as stone while holding his master.

"What is my next task Master Xemnas?" she mumbled.

Xemnas gave her a stern look as he informed her of the next task;

"You will need to appear before them and use Leon as a shield, showing them that we have their dearest friend. You will then use your powers to capture them in your imprisonment of shadows until only Cloud and that Riku boy is left. Now go before Vexen wishes to experiment with you."

With that, Xemnas walked off and out on to his balcony. Loveless made Leon disappear into the shadows, forcing her to crash to the ground once more. Zexion rushed over to her side and found her in a deep sleep. He picked her up with gentle care and left the office with her for her room.

"you should stop trying to please people and be yourself. I know you are much stronger then this Mallory, much stronger." He whispered.

He softly laid her in her bed and treated her injured shoulder. He removed her jacket and shoes before placing blankets over her. He gave a soft smile at how peaceful she appeared as he walked out of the room.


	5. sparks of battle

"LOVELESS, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!!" roared Cloud.

He was nearly tearing down all of Hallow Bastion with his buster blade. Everyone was having trouble keeping up with him except for Sora. His own rage was building inside him with each heartless and nobody he tore down. Aerith and Tifa were starting to fill with worry over them that they had Mog fly ahead of them to warn the people living there of Sora and Cloud's rampage. They were finally able to catch up with the rage filled warriors to see them standing before a deformed looking Leon holding out what looked to be his arm-like gunblade at them. Aerith, Yuffie, Tifa, and Riku stared in shock at how the darkness seemed to have bonded with Leon's body. Yuffie stepped between Cloud and Sora ready to attack Leon with tears in her eyes.

"Leon, what happened to you? Don't let the darkness use your rage to feed off you!" she cried.

Cloud gritted his teeth at how Leon just laughed at her words. Sora released a sudden scream that sounded like that of an angry heartless and charged at Leon with full force. He quickly melted into the shadows just before the keyblade could come in contact with his shoulder. He reappeared behind Yuffie and used his still human hand to pull her into a web of shadows that caused her to disappear without a trace.

"Yuffie! Leon, what is going on with you? How could you pull your injured sister into the darkness!" yelled an angry Tifa.

She jumped at him with fists covered in sharp needles. Aerith used an ice spell to freeze Leon to the spot. The spell worked, but Tifa had fallen right into his gunblade hand. It pierced right through her abdomen, making her cough blood all over Leon's half heartless face. He opened another web and threw Tifa off his arm and into the darkness.

"Two down, four more to restore to light guard." Grunted Leon.

He easily broke the ice and walked calmly over to Aerith when Riku and Cloud attacked him. He was hit in his right shoulder and left arm. He barred his jagged teeth at them and fired a dark energy bullet at Cloud. He narrowly missed the round and charged back with twice the speed. Sora joined in, but his eyes were flickering between blue and an eerie yellow. His hair was darkening as he somehow drove his keyblade through Leon's still human shoulder. He gritted his teeth in pain and faded into the darkness. Sora was fuming as he glared at the spot where Leon was standing a moment ago. Riku placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him, but was pushed away by Sora's elbow. A look of hurt crossed his face for a moment until hearing Cloud attack random structures. Aerith and Riku tried to stop him, but were almost cleaved in half by his buster blade. They backed away as Aerith casted a sleeping spell over both Cloud and Sora to stop them from tearing down all of the committee's hard work. They started to carry them back to base when a sudden burst of laughter came from behind them. Riku quickly turned around and saw Vexen and Larxene standing on one of the rooftops still left .The bleach blond jumped down first and created an electric energy field around the four with her witch like cackle. Riku kept his cool as he glared at Larxene and Vexen standing outside the barrier. Aerith reluctantly removed the spell on Sora and Cloud and tried to cast a spell breaker on the barrier.

"You can try all you want; it won't brake without my grand spark spell. Tough cookies flower girl." Snickered Larxene.

Mog growled at the lighting bug girl and tried to ram into her, but only caught his pom-pom on fire from the sparks. He fluttered over to Aerith and started to whimper as he settled on top of her head. Cloud was the first to awaken and surprisingly was able to keep his composure unlike before. He walked forward and just shrugged while staring down Vexen and Larxene.

"I thought Sora and Riku stopped you morons from taking over?" he recalled in a monotone voice.

Vexen held a fake expression of hurt on his face for a moment before snapping his fingers to make Loveless unwillingly appear next to him. She looked at the ground in what appeared to be sorrow. Larxene simply giggled once more bad made sparks of electricity arc across her antennae like hair.

"with the help of my latest experiment, we will be able to take over this world and hoard countless hearts here for the taking." Vexen informed them.

Riku just looked at how beaten and broken Loveless looked now. He remembered how she had a scratch here and there from the collecting she had to do, but she had blood matting her hair, more stitches on her arms and legs, and tares in her clothes. He hid the shock from his face as she looked ready to collapse as she slightly leaned against Larxene.

"Your 'experiment' doesn't appear so strong right now. Maybe she's defective." Grinned Cloud.

Vexen's own grin turned to a glare at these words. He pulled out a remote of some sort and hit a button, bringing Loveless to a painful attack position. Her face was blank once more, but her twitching lip showed she was still there and not just some puppet with no mind.

"She use to think on her own, but with this control collar, she has no choice but to obey my orders, isn't that right Loveless?" he jeered.

Loveless' body jerked into a bow as she whimpered;

"Y-yes Master Vexen….."

Larxene gave the both of them a strange look before questioning;

"Master? She only calls Xemnas master unless….. Hey! You're trying to become superior again!!!"

She quickly threw three of her kunai at Vexen, but ended up hitting Loveless in the back. She screamed in pain and crumbled to the ground, writhing in agony. Vexen just laughed as everyone glared at him.

"Xemnas can't perform anything right, and Loveless acts just as the heartless do, obeying the one with the most power." He gloated.

He hit another button on the remote and Loveless charged straight at Larxene in a forced rage. She tore right through her chest and deep into her heart.

"I'm……s-sorry M-miss Larxene… I….I……RAAAAAAAAA!!!" she stuttered and roared.

Larxene coughed up some blood and crashed on the ground. Her body started to transform into a deranged lightening bug-like heartless. She flew off and out of view to torture her innocent humans.

"Well she was an annoying insect, she's better off that way." sighed Vexen.

Aerith started casting fire outside the barrier at Vexen while she calmly stated;

"How can you just use people like that? She was your team mate, and you just stole all that was left of her, have you no shame?"

She continued to cast the spell, not realizing she was burning Loveless to her bones. Riku placed a hand in front of her to signal her to stop as he spoke;

"Loveless may seem evil, but she just wants to be alive again. If we can catch her, we could free her from this torment."

The instant Aerith heard that she stopped her spell. Loveless crumbled to the ground with a roar. She was quickly picked up by Leon that appeared from the darkness. He growled at Vexen before disappearing with Loveless into the darkness. He just sighed and snapped his fingers to make him and the barrier disappear. Cloud sighed and placed his hand to his forehead as he walked calmly off to base. Riku picked up a still sleeping Sora, but only got him to mumble;

"five more minutes, I'm playing with Mog in the garden….."

Riku just laughed and walked back to base with Aerith and Mog following close behind.

When they reached the base, they saw Sid and Cloud passing back and forth. Aerith put Mog in his sleeping basket before stopping in front of Cloud. She folded her arms and gave a concerned look at him.

"are you still worried about Leon and the others? We will save them, you do know I won't let anything stop the wedding or destroy our family." She stated.

A blush came over his face for a moment but quickly faded as he coolly spoke of their latest issue.

"the thing is that……I think you should see for yourself." He sighed.

Riku had put Sora in their room and just looked in confusion at Aerith pulling him into Leon's office. He looked in shock at the two people standing before Leon's desk.

"Zexion and Marluxia?!? What are in hell are you doing here?!?!?"


	6. Restoration of destiny

Marluxia and Zexion looked up when Riku addressed them. Marluxia held a grin on his face and walked toward Aerith and Riku only to have Riku's keyblade held to his throat. He held his hands in an "I surrender" manner.

"Now that's no way to treat someone trying to help you, now is it?" he remarked.

Riku didn't falter until Cloud forced his keyblade away from the pink-haired man. He dusted off his coat and offered Aerith a thorn less rose. Zexion just sighed and took the flower out of Marly's hand.

"We're not here to flatter or kill you guys. We want to stop Vexen just as much as you guys." He replied.

Riku held a stern look on his face as Zexion pulled his spell book out of thin air. He opened the aged book to a page marked with a small sticky note. He quickly cleared his throat and spoke the spell aloud;

"_Shadows of Dusk return to light, allow our story we seek tonight._"

Mirrors quickly appeared in front of each person in the room. It appeared to be a window into the past as Zexion narrated what appeared to be happening;

"Marluxia and I were performing our normal duties when we heard a commotion in the lab. We quickly rushed off to see what was going on to see Superior being attacked by a crying Loveless. Vexen was laughing and holding a remote control in his hands. We attempted to stop Loveless, but Leon (Cloud narrows his eyes at the mirror) pushed us away. Superior was turned into an anti-angel heartless that scurried off into the shadows. Loveless was sobbing on the ground with blood smeared all over her face and hands. Vexen hit more buttons on the control, causing Loveless to shriek and crumble to the ground. She was bloody and bruised to the point of death, but that didn't concern Vexen. He ordered everyone in the organization to come before him. Loveless was forced to turn those that came into heartless, leaving Demyx, Xion, Roxas, Axel, Marluxia, and I. Loveless forced herself and Leon to hide us away from her forced rage. She handed Marly a note before sending us to Hallow Bastion."

Riku held his pain in as he watched all that was said play before his eyes. Loveless was weak and on the verge of dying out completely. He quickly walked over to Marly and Zexion, holding out his hand.

"give me the note from Loveless." He demanded.

Marly calmly dug the note out of his jacket pocket and unwillingly handed over the note. Riku quickly opened it as everyone crowded around him to read this;

"_I do not wish to fight any longer. My existence is of no need if I am to be used as a tool by Vexen. He forced me to kill those that were my friends! I want you and those that are left to take down Vexen, even if that means you must end me. I can't keep my will strong much longer, please help!  
Your Friend,_

_Mallory the Loveless"_

Riku's hand shook slightly as he placed the note on the desk. He walked off with a broken look on his face. Aerith followed to make sure he was okay as Cloud asked;

"so what this note and you guys are saying, she's doing all this against her will? Do you guys have any idea what Vexen has on her that allows him to control her as a weapon?"

Marly hastily took the note and put it back in his pocket as Zexion answered Cloud's questions.

"Yes, she was just an ordinary member until Vexen started to control her. He placed a thick metal collar around her neck that connects with her nervous system, tapping into her brain. If we can destroy the collar or the remote control, I believe she should have control once more."

Cloud nodded and lead Zexion to Sid's lab down the hall. Marly slumped into one of the chairs in the office as he sighed bitterly. He looked to the window before taking out a picture of him, Zexion, and a girl with slate gray eyes and deep purple hair. He looked deeply at the picture with a broken expression on his face. He lowly whispered;

"Don't worry my beloved, you'll be safe soon."

Vexen was standing in the doorway of Loveless' room with a twisted smirk on his face. Loveless was tossed carelessly into the room. She was quickly held by Leon as he glared at Vexen for causing such pain to his "mistress". Vexen merely laughed and slammed the door shut. Darkness quickly deformed the room into a bottomless pit filled with webs of shadows. Yuffie and an unconscious Tifa were ensnared by the webs that clung to the walls. Leon poked at Tifa with his gunblade while Yuffie struggled to say her words.

"Leon, stop that!! She needs medical attention!" she huffed.

Leon drew his attention to her and glared at Yuffie before forcing Tifa to drink a healing potion. He then walked over to Yuffie and took her face in his human hand. He forced her to lock eyes with him as he spoke;

"I don't want her to die either, but I can't leave Mistress Mallory unguarded with how weak she has become serving the new Leader of Light guard. Just look at how tired her body has become, even her pure glow has faded since he has taken control."

He let her go after she struggled some and walked over to the crumpled mass that was Loveless. Yuffie looked on in horror at how ill she had become since the first time she saw her. The once eerie glow of her white skin was stained with blood and burn marks. Her lips were swollen and bloody as well. Her once tangle free purple hair was now matted and tangled with ash and blood. Her clothes looked ready to fall off her beaten form from all the tares and stitches that held it together. Yuffie felt sorry for Loveless even after turning Leon into her servant. She tried to struggle free of the web, but only ensnared herself further. Loveless looked up to see her doing this and removed the web that was binding her. Leon was perplexed at this, but didn't question. Yuffie stumbled to the ground and walked cautiously over to Loveless and Leon. She held out a hand to Loveless only to have Leon point his gunblade at her.

"_It's……okay Leon, let her near me……"_choked Loveless.

Leon gave her a hurt look, but moved aside to let Yuffie see her. Yuffie kneeled on the ground next to her and offered Loveless her hand as she smiled gently. Loveless looked up and had a tear drip down her face from beneath her hat. She started to sob and shake violently when Yuffie pulled her into a kind hearted hug.

"How can you be so kind to such a beast that caused you so much pain?" she sobbed.

Yuffie didn't say anything until the shaking stopped along with the tears. She pulled out of the hug and sat calmly as she answered;

"You had no choice of your actions when you attacked me. Why should I hurt you when you are already hurt to begin with?"

She gave a goofy face and earned a small, nervous giggle from Loveless. She out a long piece of pink ribbon and tied it around Loveless' right wrist. She looked confused at this gesture and tilted her head in question.

"It's a promise that you'll be you again as long as I'm still breathing." Smiled Yuffie.

Loveless' face appeared to light up at this before a sudden pain shot through her body. She withed on the floor before revealing jagged over sized teeth and razor sharp talons. Yuffie backed away in fear as Vexen appeared in the room. He laughed cruelly at her reaction and gave a weak applaud.

"Very touching Yuffie. I personally thought you had the rage to kill her, but I guess I was wrong." He grinned.

Yuffie took out her oversized shuriken and ran straight for Vexen only to be wrapped in tentacles of darkness. He laughed at how she struggled before hitting a button on the remote in his hand. Loveless quickly appeared next to him with a more animalistic appearance.

"Loveless, turn her and that other girl into the cores of some heartless, I think their kindness will slowly destroy them as it turns into anger and hate." Vexen ordered.

Loveless grunted in agreement and shifted the darkness to slowly swallow Yuffie and Tifa. Yuffie struggled for air and freedom but stopped when she heard the sweet and gentle voice of Loveless in her mind.

_"I now understand why I exist as a monster. I will make sure you will be free along with Tifa and Leon. Thank you and goodbye, my friend"_


	7. 7: Dawning Hearts

"So if we can find a way to lure Loveless into Radiant Gardens at dawn the sunlight should cause her to sleep?" grumbled Sid.

Zexion nodded as he mixed some of the few chemicals that were in the lab. Marly was there now searching information on Loveless and anything on Vexen. Cloud was leaning against one of the walls with arms folded and eyes closed. Riku was pacing back and forth in the hall just outside the lab with Aerith trying to stop him. Sora, unlike the rest of them, was happily stuffing his face with his favorite chocolate cookies. Mog was doing the same, only he was eating strawberry biscuits. Both started to fight over the milk when Sid suddenly started yelling;

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MORONS THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO FIND THOSE CHEMICALS AND FIX THAT COMPUTER!!!!?"

Sora shot up out of the kitchen and into the smoke filled lab. He coughed and stumbled into Aerith clearing the smoke with an aero spell. Sid was still stringing together curses as Marly and Zexion dusted off their coats.

"Sid, there are children here! (Grips Sora's shoulders) Now what on earth happened in here?" Asked Aerith.

Marly was starting to say something when another explosion happen, only there was no smoke, but darkness imitating smoke. A person stumbled out of the dark cloud, falling in the doorway of the lab. Aerith and Sora casted reverse to destroy all the smoke and darkness while Marly began fighting with Sid once more. Zexion, Riku, and Cloud were the only ones that noticed the now crumpled mass on the floor.

"Would you guys knock it off! Someone's hurt over here!" yelled Riku.

At the point he had started yelling, Aerith was arguing with Sid and Marly when they were drawn to the mass as well. They crowded around the body, darkness hiding its true appearance. Cloud was staring at it with wide eyes, not moving a single muscle while the others started to tare away at the darkness with magic and their hands. Sora was pouting at the fact that the darkness kept returning no matter what they did to the person buried beneath it.

"Ok that's it, everyone move out the way!" fumed Sora.

He stood up and pointed his keyblade at the mass on the floor, making everyone back off towards the walls in an instant. A sudden beam of light came from the end, seeming to hit the chest of the person beneath the darkness. The body twitched as the darkness disappeared. Everyone suddenly gasped in shock at seeing Leon sound asleep on the ground after falling to Loveless. Cloud rushed over to his lover and rested his head in his lap, eyes almost watering at the sight of him. Aerith and Marly slowly creped over to check on Leon's condition, but were stopped by Sora and Zexion.

"You're a moron you know that Leon? Making all of us worry about you when you were weak…."mumbled Cloud.

Leon stirred in his sleep, putting everyone on edge until his eyes slowly opened, showing they were just as bloodshot as Cloud's. He reached a hand up and touched the cheek of Cloud, a look of apology in his face. Everyone rushed over without restraint to see Leon as himself.

"We were so worried about you!! How did you break the spell?" asked Aerith.

His eyes were dazed as he looked around at everyone before bolting upright and explained all that he could remember.

"I don't really remember much, but I saw that girl in white I've been following trapped inside the darkness. She was trying to push me away when she had shown me what I had done to you guys (looks around with guilt) but I just didn't want to leave her until I could help end her pain. But all she told be was; _'I am no longer pure Leon, but tainted to the point of no return. I wish for you and your friends to stop me from destroying this world. I don't have much time left having a human will. I want you to tell my brother and friend I love them and I will miss them so.'_"

Marly held a look of fury on his face before storming off, Zexion soon following. Leon held a look of confusion on his face as Cloud helped him off the floor and into the conference room. Sora was curious of what happened with Marly and Zexion, and wandered off from the conference room and the others. He found them standing outside the door, appearing to be arguing as Sora listened closely.

"I'm not going to let you kill my beloved, Zexion! There has to be some way to save her!" bellowed Marly.

Zexion was glaring and forcing himself not to hit Marly as he calmly stated;

"Do you think I want to kill my only connection to my mother? We have no choice, and it's her final wish that we stop her, even at the cost of her life."

"But she's your sister! You can't just-"ranted Marly.

"We have to go through with the plan of removing her heart!!! I want Mallory to live, but I won't go against her wish!!" roared Zexion.

He then stormed off into the house with a single tear streaming from the corner of his left eye, unknown to all but him. Sora quickly had to dart off to his guest room as to not be caught by the fuming Zexion. Zexion stormed into the conference room by knocking the door back violently. Everyone jumped in their seats at this as some drew their weapons. Zexion looked to the ground and clenched his hands into fists before blankly stating;

"We leave for Radiant Gardens at noon. We will use all our forces no matter who is trying to stop us."

His body trembled slightly as he turned away and headed out to his room with a newly formed rage. Marly had come running in moments after, panting with shock and pain.

"Vexen's here early and he brought company!!!" he shouted.

Everyone summoned their weapons and rushed outside to stare in shock at Vexen standing calmly behind a creepily deformed girl-like heartless and two gigantic jet black heartless with crystal cores of yellow and red.


End file.
